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Boneways
“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.” - Pratchit, Bard of Selenkard The Boneways are a vast network of caverns, tunnels, vaults, and passages stretching from one end of the world to the other. Its physical features are even more varied than those of the surface world. Subterranean rivers, fungus fields, deep gorges, underground cities, yawning chasms - any traveler would have to contend with all these features and more. History "A vast subterranean realm inhabited by strange, sinister creatures. It is a place where few humans go and from where even fewer return." - Okami the Warlock Much of what is known about the Boneways has been gleamed from visions, or from fragments of stories and songs kept across Tolas. The Hollowing In the first age of Tolas, the gods did battle with primordial entities that exemplified each of the four elements; fire, earth, air, and water. It was during this war that the gods laid low the primordial of the earth itself, and as their foe lay defeated the gods shattered his form, taking his very bones and hollowing the world to craft dread weapons to use against his kin. What was left in the hollow world were the Boneways, a collection of tunnels and vast caverns formed with dark and evil magicks employed by the gods in the darkest of times. Refuge in Darkness In the Age of Arrival, the time when the gods had departed the mortal realm to carve out their own domains, creatures that had once dwelt on the surface of the world or within the planes of their gods for many various reasons found themselves persecuted or displaced following a war or conflict within the heavens, and many of them found refuge in the Boneways, away from the eyes of the gods and the powers forming on the surface. Unseen Kingdoms Below the surface of Tolas, the peoples that fled to the darkness have endured in the harsh environment of the Boneways and formed their own societies within the tunnels and caverns. Some have formed kingdoms, tribes, and communities that mirror much of the structures of the world above, though others are truly alien groups that formed through dark alliances and terrible pacts. Most of the interaction with the surface world for many of the denizens of the Boneways is to take something, such as slaves, food, and wood. Though some creatures are willing to trade with creatures that stand in the light of the Hateful Sun, such as Stracaralome, the city itself sitting on the border between the surface world and much of the Boneways. Geography "There are no shadows in there. There is no room for imagination in its depths. It is a place for alertness, but not aliveness, a place with no room for hopes and dreams." -'' Salvador, of the Royal Institute of Truth The Boneways are mainly without light and thus only fungi and creatures that have adapted to dwell in the dark can survive in its tunnels and warrens. Large portions of it are also without food or water, making well-stocked food supplies a must-have when exploring uncharted terrain underground. The air itself can turn poisonous, or even vent explosive gas into a chamber believed to have been safe for centuries. Tunnel Network A vast network of tunnels, some naturally formed, others carved by mortal hands, but many were created by the devastating magicks that were used to form the Boneways themselves. Worlds Below Generally speaking, the Boneways are divided into three categories; Upperways, Middleways, Lowerways. Upperways The first three miles below the surface. It was here where the surface dwellers and those in the Boneways most often meet. Middleways Located three to ten miles below the surface, this layer is where most of the Boneway cities are located. Lowerways Ten miles or more below the surface, the Lowerways is where even those who know the Boneways are loath to go. These ways were subjected to the most desperate acts of the gods in their war against the primordials, and the stain of that evil still lingers in this forsaken place. Marrowmarks Marrowmarks, or ''marrows, are strange magical anomalies seemingly created as a result of the powerful and violent magicks that were employed in creating the Boneways. Manifesting as sigils, runes, or glowing symbols that seem to have carved themselves in ancient script, these markers can be benign or even helpful to the weary traveler, but most are disruptive or dangerous, especially when exposed to magic or creatures touch by the arcane. Most marrowmarks are believed to be naturally forming, but some are carved by those given over to the madness of the tunnels, exposure to marrows can leave one forever demented, destined to carve the marks of a corpse across every surface they can, be it stone, dirt, or even their own flesh. Denizens Many creatures and peoples live their entire lives in the Boneways, some completely ignorant of the surface world and the affairs of the kingdoms and gods above them. The Boneways is home to many predators, races and monsters, most of which are hostile. These include: * Aboleths * Beholders * Derro * Drow (dark elves) * Duergar (gray dwarves) * Dwarves * Illithids (Mind Flayers) * Minotaurs * Goliaths * Myconids (Fungus-men) * Svirfneblin (Deep Gnomes) * Qiji (Thri'kreen) Factions A number of major factions stand out among the kingdoms of the Boneways, many of them dominated by a single race. Drow Matriarchy The drow, or dark elves, of the Boneways dwell in cities devoted to their lost goddess, where slaves toil in the dark to maintain their society. Duergar Clans Clan Duergar was one of the first clans brought to Tolas by Moradin in ages past, consumed by greed and corrupted by the twisted and dark powers that formed the Boneways, the duergar that now dwell in the darkness below live in kingdoms that darkly mirror those of the dwarves above them. Though some do venture out of the Middleways into the Upperways and dwell with their lost kin, many are bitter over the apparent favoritism expressed by their god towards the dwarves. Qiji For more on this, see here. The qiji are a group of insectoid humanoids that dwell in the Boneways beneath Vhir, their people believed to adhere to some creed or religion that makes them opposed to the surface dwellers. Whatever their beliefs they are hostile to any and all intruders into their subterranean kingdom.Category:Location Category:Magic Category:Boneways